System and method for mobile device location tracking with a communication event trigger in a wireless network

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are systems and methods for location tracking. In one embodiment, an apparatus receives a message sent to a user of a mobile device in a wireless network, and a processor determines at least one location parameter. Data is extracted from the message, and initiation of a computing function (e.g., transmission of a communication to the mobile device) is triggered by a match between the location and the data from the message.

This application includes material that is subject to copyrightprotection. The copyright owner has no objection to the facsimilereproduction by anyone of the patent disclosure, as it appears in thePatent and Trademark Office files or records, but otherwise reserves allcopyright rights whatsoever.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to location tracking inwireless networks.

SUMMARY

Location tracking can be used to determine the location of a device in awireless network. Location tracking techniques include, for example,distance based techniques such as Time of Arrival (ToA), Time Differenceof Arrival (TDoA), and Received Signal Strength Indication (RSSI), andangle based techniques such as Angle of Arrival (AoA). ToA systems arebased on measurement of the arrival time of a signal transmitted from atracked device to several receiving sensors. TDoA techniques userelative time measurements at multiple receiving sensors to identify thelocation of the tracked device. In RSSI systems, knowledge of thetransmitter output power, cable losses, and antenna gains, and receivedsignal strength of a received packet along with an appropriate path lossmodel allow for calculation of the distance between the tracked deviceand a tracking device in the wireless network.

Tracking devices can collect location information about the trackeddevice, for example, based on transmissions sent from the trackeddevice. The collected information may be transmitted to a centrallocation, such as a location server.

The present disclosure describes computer systems and methods fordetermining a location of a user device (e.g., a mobile telephone orsmart phone). The location of the user device is matched to a locationcorresponding to a prior communication sent via a network. In responseto this matching, a new communication is transmitted to the user deviceand/or another computing function is initiated on the user device oranother computing device. Some embodiments of the present disclosure aresummarized below.

It is recognized in the disclosure herein that determining a location ofa mobile device in a wireless network, and coordinating thisdetermination with a triggering event that causes a new computingfunction (e.g., the transmission of a new communication) is a technicalproblem for network communication and other server based technologies.Embodiments herein provide one or more technological solutions in therealm of one or more of location tracking, real-time communicationsacross a network, computers, or the Internet to improve the performanceof, and technology of, location tracking, communication and messagingsoftware, and systems and servers by providing automated functionalitythat effectively and more efficiently manages location tracking andrelated automatic triggering of new computing events in the networkbased on said tracked locations in ways that cannot effectively be done,or done at all, manually.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, a method is disclosed whichincludes receiving, over a network, electronic communications sent to auser, each communication associated with a respective location; storingthe received communications in a data repository; determining, by atleast one processor, a location of a user device of the user;identifying, by the least one processor, a first communication of thereceived communications, the identifying based on matching the locationof the user device to the respective location of the firstcommunication; in response to the identifying, generating, by the leastone processor, a new communication; and transmitting, over a network, bythe least one processor, the new communication to cause a display in auser interface of the user device.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, a non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium is provided, the computer-readablestorage medium tangibly storing thereon, or having tangibly encodedthereon, computer readable instructions that when executed cause atleast one processor to perform one or more of the above methods.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, a system is provided thatcomprises one or more computing devices configured to providefunctionality in accordance with such embodiments. In accordance withone or more embodiments, functionality is embodied in steps of a methodperformed by at least one computing device. In accordance with one ormore embodiments, program code to implement functionality in accordancewith one or more such embodiments is embodied in, by and/or on anon-transitory computer-readable medium.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of thedisclosure will be apparent from the following description ofembodiments as illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in whichreference characters refer to the same parts throughout the variousviews. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead beingplaced upon illustrating principles of the disclosure:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a networkwithin which the systems and methods disclosed herein could beimplemented according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 depicts is a schematic diagram illustrating a client device inaccordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram illustrating components of a systemin accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating steps performed in accordance withsome embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating an architecture of a hardwaredevice in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure; and

FIG. 6 illustrates a system to track a location of a user device andgenerate a new communication to the user device in response to atriggering event, in accordance with one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, andwhich show, by way of illustration, specific example embodiments.Subject matter may, however, be embodied in a variety of different formsand, therefore, covered or claimed subject matter is intended to beconstrued as not being limited to any example embodiments set forthherein; example embodiments are provided merely to be illustrative.Likewise, a reasonably broad scope for claimed or covered subject matteris intended. Among other things, for example, subject matter may beembodied as methods, devices, components, or systems. Accordingly,embodiments may, for example, take the form of hardware, software,firmware or any combination thereof (other than software per se). Thefollowing detailed description is, therefore, not intended to be takenin a limiting sense.

Throughout the specification and claims, terms may have nuanced meaningssuggested or implied in context beyond an explicitly stated meaning.Likewise, the phrase “in one embodiment” as used herein does notnecessarily refer to the same embodiment and the phrase “in anotherembodiment” as used herein does not necessarily refer to a differentembodiment. It is intended, for example, that claimed subject matterinclude combinations of example embodiments in whole or in part.

In general, terminology may be understood at least in part from usage incontext. For example, terms, such as “and”, “or”, or “and/or,” as usedherein may include a variety of meanings that may depend at least inpart upon the context in which such terms are used. Typically, “or” ifused to associate a list, such as A, B or C, is intended to mean A, B,and C, here used in the inclusive sense, as well as A, B or C, here usedin the exclusive sense. In addition, the term “one or more” as usedherein, depending at least in part upon context, may be used to describeany feature, structure, or characteristic in a singular sense or may beused to describe combinations of features, structures or characteristicsin a plural sense. Similarly, terms, such as “a,” “an,” or “the,” again,may be understood to convey a singular usage or to convey a pluralusage, depending at least in part upon context. In addition, the term“based on” may be understood as not necessarily intended to convey anexclusive set of factors and may, instead, allow for existence ofadditional factors not necessarily expressly described, again, dependingat least in part on context.

As used herein, the term “location” refers to a geographic location, forexample such as a longitude/latitude combination, a postal code, an areacode, or a street address. The term “location” is also used herein inreference to a physical location associated with a user, a retail outlet(e.g., store, theater, restaurant, etc.), or other similar physicallocations, or other detectable and quantifiable point or area ofphysical space.

As used herein, the term “geofence” refers to various regions orboundaries of interest that include a geographic area, for examplewithin a distance or other defined physical relationship relative to aparticular location or point of interest. However, a geofence need notbe limited to any geometric shape or an arbitrary boundary drawn on amap. A geofence can be used to determine a geographical area of interestfor calculation of demographics, advertising, or similar purposes.

Geofences can be used in conjunction with advertisement generation orcommunication delivery as discussed herein. For example, a geofence canbe used to assist in determining whether a user (or mobile deviceassociated with the user) is within a geographic area of interest to aparticular service provider or advertiser (e.g., a local vendor ormerchant). In one embodiment, if the user is within a geofenceestablished by the merchant, systems discussed herein can use thatinformation to generate a notification, dynamic advertisement, or othercommunication from the advertiser and deliver it to the user (e.g., viaa mobile device associated with the user).

The present disclosure generally relates to location tracking andgeneration of a computing event in response to a trigger such as, forexample, a location match to one or more prior communications receivedby a user device or otherwise sent to a user (e.g., addressed to theuser). The present disclosure improves at least the technologies oflocation tracking, communication serving, and communicationidentification.

The present disclosure is described below with reference to blockdiagrams and operational illustrations of methods and devices. It isunderstood that each block of the block diagrams or operationalillustrations, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams oroperational illustrations, can be implemented by means of analog ordigital hardware and computer program instructions. These computerprogram instructions can be provided to a processor of a general purposecomputer, special purpose computer, ASIC, or other programmable dataprocessing apparatus, such that the instructions, which execute via theprocessor of the computer or other programmable data processingapparatus, implement the functions/acts specified in the block diagramsor operational block or blocks. In some alternate implementations, thefunctions/acts noted in the blocks can occur out of the order noted inthe operational illustrations. For example, two blocks shown insuccession can in fact be executed substantially concurrently or theblocks can sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending uponthe functionality/acts involved.

These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of ageneral purpose computer, special purpose computer, ASIC, or otherprogrammable data processing apparatus, such that the instructions,which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmabledata processing apparatus, implement the functions/acts specified in theblock diagrams or operational block or blocks.

For the purposes of this disclosure a computer readable medium (orcomputer-readable storage medium/media) stores computer data, which datacan include computer program code (or computer-executable instructions)that is executable by a computer, in machine readable form. By way ofexample, and not limitation, a computer readable medium may comprisecomputer readable storage media, for tangible or fixed storage of data,or communication media for transient interpretation of code-containingsignals. Computer readable storage media, as used herein, refers tophysical or tangible storage (as opposed to signals) and includeswithout limitation volatile and non-volatile, removable andnon-removable media implemented in any method or technology for thetangible storage of information such as computer-readable instructions,data structures, program modules or other data. Computer readablestorage media includes, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM,flash memory or other solid state memory technology, CD-ROM, DVD, orother optical storage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic diskstorage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other physical ormaterial medium which can be used to tangibly store the desiredinformation or data or instructions and which can be accessed by acomputer or processor.

For the purposes of this disclosure the term “server” should beunderstood to refer to a service point which provides processing,database, and communication facilities. By way of example, and notlimitation, the term “server” can refer to a single, physical processorwith associated communications and data storage and database facilities,or it can refer to a networked or clustered complex of processors andassociated network and storage devices, as well as operating softwareand one or more database systems and application software that supportthe services provided by the server. Servers may vary widely inconfiguration or capabilities, but generally a server may include one ormore central processing units and memory. A server may also include oneor more mass storage devices, one or more power supplies, one or morewired or wireless network interfaces, one or more input/outputinterfaces, or one or more operating systems, such as Windows Server,Mac OS X, Unix, Linux, FreeBSD, or the like.

For the purposes of this disclosure a “network” should be understood torefer to a network that may couple devices so that communications may beexchanged, such as between a server and a client device, peer to peercommunications, or other types of devices, including between wirelessdevices coupled via a wireless network, for example. A network may alsoinclude mass storage, such as network attached storage (NAS), a storagearea network (SAN), or other forms of computer or machine readablemedia, for example. A network may include the Internet, one or morelocal area networks (LANs), one or more wide area networks (WANs),wire-line type connections, wireless type connections, cellular or anycombination thereof. Likewise, sub-networks, which may employ differingarchitectures or may be compliant or compatible with differingprotocols, may interoperate within a larger network. Various types ofdevices may, for example, be made available to provide an interoperablecapability for differing architectures or protocols. As one illustrativeexample, a router may provide a link between otherwise separate andindependent LANs.

A communication link or channel may include, for example, analogtelephone lines, such as a twisted wire pair, a coaxial cable, full orfractional digital lines including T1, T2, T3, or T4 type lines,Integrated Services Digital Networks (ISDNs), Digital Subscriber Lines(DSLs), wireless links including satellite links, or other communicationlinks or channels, such as may be known to those skilled in the art.Furthermore, a computing device or other related electronic devices maybe remotely coupled to a network, such as via a telephone line or link,for example.

For purposes of this disclosure, a “wireless network” should beunderstood to couple user or client devices with a network. A wirelessnetwork may employ stand-alone ad-hoc networks, mesh networks, WirelessLAN (WLAN) networks, cellular networks, or the like. A wireless networkmay further include a system of terminals, gateways, routers, or thelike coupled by wireless radio links, or the like, which may movefreely, randomly or organize themselves arbitrarily, such that networktopology may change, at times even rapidly. A wireless network mayfurther employ a plurality of network access technologies, includingLong Term Evolution (LTE), WLAN, Wireless Router (WR) mesh, or 2nd, 3rd,or 4th generation (2G, 3G, or 4G) cellular technology, or the like.Network access technologies may enable wide area coverage for devices,such as client devices with varying degrees of mobility, for example.

For example, a network may enable RF or wireless type communication viaone or more network access technologies, such as Global System forMobile communication (GSM), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System(UMTS), General Packet Radio Services (GPRS), Enhanced Data GSMEnvironment (EDGE), 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE Advanced,Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Bluetooth, 802.11b/g/n,or the like. A wireless network may include virtually any type ofwireless communication mechanism by which signals may be communicatedbetween devices, such as a client device or a computing device, betweenor within a network, or the like.

A computing device may be capable of sending or receiving signals, suchas via a wired or wireless network, or may be capable of processing orstoring signals, such as in memory as physical memory states, and may,therefore, operate as a server. Thus, devices capable of operating as aserver may include, as examples, dedicated rack-mounted servers, desktopcomputers, laptop computers, set top boxes, integrated devices combiningvarious features, such as two or more features of the foregoing devices,or the like. Servers may vary widely in configuration or capabilities,but generally a server may include one or more central processing unitsand memory. A server may also include one or more mass storage devices,one or more power supplies, one or more wired or wireless networkinterfaces, one or more input/output interfaces, or one or moreoperating systems, such as Windows Server, Mac OS X, Unix, Linux,FreeBSD, or the like.

For purposes of this disclosure, a client (or consumer or user) devicemay include a computing device capable of sending or receiving signals,such as via a wired or a wireless network. A client device may, forexample, include a desktop computer or a portable device, such as acellular telephone, a smart phone, a display pager, a radio frequency(RF) device, an infrared (IR) device an Near Field Communication (NFC)device, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a handheld computer, atablet computer, a phablet, a laptop computer, a set top box, a wearablecomputer, an integrated device combining various features, such asfeatures of the forgoing devices, or the like.

A client device may vary in terms of capabilities or features. Claimedsubject matter is intended to cover a wide range of potentialvariations. For example, a cell phone may include a numeric keypad or adisplay of limited functionality, such as a liquid crystal display(LCD), LED or OLED display for displaying text. In contrast, however, asanother example, a web-enabled client device may include one or morephysical or virtual keyboards, mass storage, one or more accelerometers,one or more gyroscopes, global positioning system (GPS) or otherlocation-identifying type capability, or a display with a high degree offunctionality, such as a touch-sensitive color 2D or 3D display, forexample.

A client device may include or may execute a variety of operatingsystems, including a personal computer operating system, such as aWindows, iOS or Linux, or a mobile operating system, such as iOS,Android, or Windows Mobile, or the like. A client device may include ormay execute a variety of possible applications, such as a clientsoftware application enabling communication with other devices, such ascommunicating one or more messages, such as via an email applicationsuch as Yahoo!® Mail, short message service (SMS), or multimedia messageservice (MMS), including via a network, such as a social network,including, for example, Facebook®, LinkedIn®, Twitter®, Flickr®, orGoogle+®, Instagram™, to provide only a few possible examples. A clientdevice may also include or execute an application to communicatecontent, such as, for example, textual content, multimedia content, orthe like. A client device may also include or execute an application toperform a variety of possible tasks, such as browsing, searching,playing various forms of content, including locally stored or streamedvideo, or games (such as fantasy sports leagues). The foregoing isprovided to illustrate that claimed subject matter is intended toinclude a wide range of possible features or capabilities.

Certain embodiments will now be described in greater detail withreference to the figures. In general, with reference to FIG. 1, a system100 in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.FIG. 1 shows components of a general environment in which the systemsand methods discussed herein may be practiced. Not all the componentsmay be required to practice the disclosure, and variations in thearrangement and type of the components may be made without departingfrom the spirit or scope of the disclosure. As shown, system 100 of FIG.1 includes local area networks (“LANs”)/wide area networks(“WANs”)—network 105, wireless network 110, mobile devices 102 andclient device 101. FIG. 1 additionally includes a variety of servers,such as content server 106, application (or “App”) server 108, messagingserver 120 and advertising (“ad”) server 130.

One embodiment of mobile devices 102 is described in more detail below.Generally, however, mobile devices 102 may include virtually anyportable computing device capable of receiving and sending a messageover a network, such as network 105, wireless network 110, or the like.Mobile devices 102 may also be described generally as client devicesthat are configured to be portable. Thus, mobile devices 102 may includevirtually any portable computing device capable of connecting to anothercomputing device and receiving information. Such devices includemulti-touch and portable devices such as, cellular telephones, smartphones, display pagers, radio frequency (RF) devices, infrared (IR)devices, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), handheld computers, laptopcomputers, wearable computers, tablet computers, phablets, integrateddevices combining one or more of the preceding devices, and the like. Assuch, mobile devices 102 typically range widely in terms of capabilitiesand features. For example, a cell phone may have a numeric keypad and anLCD display on which only text may be displayed. In another example, aweb-enabled mobile device may have a touch sensitive screen, a stylus,and a color LCD or LED display in which both text and graphics may bedisplayed.

A web-enabled mobile device may include a browser application that isconfigured to receive and to send web pages, web-based messages, and thelike. The browser application may be configured to receive and displaygraphics, text, multimedia, and the like, employing virtually any webbased language, including a wireless application protocol messages(WAP), and the like. In one embodiment, the browser application isenabled to employ Handheld Device Markup Language (HDML), WirelessMarkup Language (WML), WMLScript, JavaScript, Standard GeneralizedMarkup Language (SMGL), HyperText Markup Language (HTML), eXtensibleMarkup Language (XML), and the like, to display and send a message.

Mobile devices 102 also may include at least one client application thatis configured to receive content from another computing device. Theclient application may include a capability to provide and receivetextual content, graphical content, audio content, and the like. Theclient application may further provide information that identifiesitself, including a type, capability, name, and the like. In oneembodiment, mobile devices 102 may uniquely identify themselves throughany of a variety of mechanisms, including a phone number, MobileIdentification Number (MIN), an electronic serial number (ESN), or othermobile device identifier.

In some embodiments, mobile devices 102 may also communicate withnon-mobile client devices, such as client device 101, or the like. Inone embodiment, such communications may include sending and/or receivingmessages, share photographs, audio clips, video clips, or any of avariety of other forms of communications. Client device 101 may includevirtually any computing device capable of communicating over a networkto send and receive information. The set of such devices may includedevices that typically connect using a wired or wireless communicationsmedium such as personal computers, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics, network PCs,or the like. Thus, client device 101 may also have differingcapabilities for displaying navigable views of information.

Client device 101 may be capable of sending or receiving signals, suchas via a wired or wireless network, or may be capable of processing orstoring signals, such as in memory as physical memory states, and may,therefore, operate as a server. Thus, devices capable of operating as aserver may include, as examples, dedicated rack-mounted servers, desktopcomputers, laptop computers, set top boxes, integrated devices combiningvarious features, such as two or more features of the foregoing devices,or the like.

Wireless network 110 is configured to couple mobile devices 102 and itscomponents with network 105. Wireless network 110 may include any of avariety of wireless sub-networks that may further overlay stand-alonead-hoc networks, and the like, to provide an infrastructure-orientedconnection for mobile devices 102. Such sub-networks may include meshnetworks, Wireless LAN (WLAN) networks, cellular networks, and the like.

Wireless network 110 may further include an autonomous system ofterminals, gateways, routers, and the like connected by wireless radiolinks, and the like. These connectors may be configured to move freelyand randomly and organize themselves arbitrarily, such that the topologyof wireless network 110 may change rapidly.

Network 105 is configured to couple content server 106, applicationserver 108, or the like, with other computing devices, including, clientdevice 101, and through wireless network 110 to mobile devices 102.Network 105 is enabled to employ any form of computer readable media forcommunicating information from one electronic device to another. Also,network 105 can include the Internet in addition to local area networks(LANs), wide area networks (WANs), direct connections, such as through auniversal serial bus (USB) port, other forms of computer-readable media,or any combination thereof. Furthermore, remote computers and otherrelated electronic devices could be remotely connected to either LANs orWANs via a modem and temporary telephone link. In essence, network 105includes any communication method by which information may travelbetween content servers 106, application server 108, client device 101,and/or other computing devices.

Within the communications networks utilized or understood to beapplicable to the present disclosure, such networks will employ variousprotocols that are used for communication over the network. Signalpackets communicated via a network, such as a network of participatingdigital communication networks, may be compatible with or compliant withone or more protocols. Signaling formats or protocols employed mayinclude, for example, TCP/IP, UDP, DECnet, NetBEUI, IPX, APPLETALK™, orthe like. Versions of the Internet Protocol (IP) may include IPv4 orIPv6. The Internet refers to a decentralized global network of networks.The Internet includes local area networks (LANs), wide area networks(WANs), wireless networks, or long haul public networks that, forexample, allow signal packets to be communicated between LANs. Signalpackets may be communicated between nodes of a network, such as, forexample, to one or more sites employing a local network address. Asignal packet may, for example, be communicated over the Internet from auser site via an access node coupled to the Internet. Likewise, a signalpacket may be forwarded via network nodes to a target site coupled tothe network via a network access node, for example. A signal packetcommunicated via the Internet may, for example, be routed via a path ofgateways, servers, etc. that may route the signal packet in accordancewith a target address and availability of a network path to the targetaddress.

According to some embodiments, the present disclosure may also beutilized with an electronic social networking site (e.g., a newcomputing function or communication that is initiated or generated inresponse to a triggering event associated with location tracking of auser device, as discussed below, may include social network datacollected for a person from a social networking site using an API of thesite). An electronic social network refers generally to a network ofindividuals, such as acquaintances, friends, family, colleagues, orco-workers, coupled via a communications network or via a variety ofsub-networks.

Potentially, additional relationships may subsequently be formed as aresult of social interaction via the communications network orsub-networks. In some embodiments, multi-modal communications may occurbetween members of the social network. Individuals within one or moresocial networks may interact or communication with other members of asocial network via a variety of devices. Multi-modal communicationtechnologies refers to a set of technologies that permit interoperablecommunication across multiple devices or platforms, such as cell phones,smart phones, tablet computing devices, personal computers, televisions,set-top boxes, SMS/MMS, email, instant messenger clients, forums, socialnetworking sites, or the like.

In some embodiments, the disclosed networks 110 and/or 105 may comprisea content distribution network(s). A “content delivery network” or“content distribution network” (CDN) generally refers to a distributedcontent delivery system that comprises a collection of computers orcomputing devices linked by a network or networks. A CDN may employsoftware, systems, protocols or techniques to facilitate variousservices, such as storage, caching, communication of content, orstreaming media or applications. A CDN may also enable an entity tooperate or manage another's site infrastructure, in whole or in part.

The content server 106 may include a device that includes aconfiguration to provide content via a network to another device (e.g.,the content may be included in a newly-generated communication triggeredbased on location tracking, as discussed below). A content server 106may, for example, host a site, such as an email platform or socialnetworking site, or a personal user site (such as a blog, vlog, onlinedating site, and the like). A content server 106 may also host a varietyof other sites, including, but not limited to business sites,educational sites, dictionary sites, encyclopedia sites, wikis,financial sites, government sites, and the like. Devices that mayoperate as content server 106 include personal computers desktopcomputers, multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmableconsumer electronics, network PCs, servers, and the like.

Content server 106 can further provide a variety of services thatinclude, but are not limited to, email services, photo services, webservices, third-party services, audio services, video services, instantmessaging (IM) services, SMS services, MMS services, FTP services, voiceover IP (VOIP) services, or the like (e.g., these services may use or bebased on aggregate objects as described below). Such services, forexample the email services and email platform, can be provided via themessaging server 120. Examples of content may include images, text,audio, video, or the like, which may be processed in the form ofphysical signals, such as electrical signals, for example, or may bestored in memory, as physical states, for example.

An ad server 130 comprises a server that stores online advertisementsfor presentation to users (e.g., the advertisements may be included in anew communication generated as described for FIG. 4 below). “Ad serving”refers to methods used to place online advertisements on websites, inapplications, or other places where users are more likely to see them,such as during an online session or during computing platform use, forexample. Various monetization techniques or models may be used inconnection with sponsored advertising, including advertising associatedwith user. Such sponsored advertising includes monetization techniquesincluding sponsored search advertising, non-sponsored searchadvertising, guaranteed and non-guaranteed delivery advertising, adnetworks/exchanges, ad targeting, ad serving and ad analytics.

For example, a process of buying or selling online advertisements mayinvolve a number of different entities, including advertisers,publishers, agencies, networks, or developers. To simplify this process,organization systems called “ad exchanges” may associate advertisers orpublishers, such as via a platform to facilitate buying or selling ofonline advertisement inventory from multiple ad networks. “Ad networks”refers to aggregation of ad space supply from publishers, such as forprovision en masse to advertisers. For web portals like Yahoo!®,advertisements may be displayed on web pages resulting from auser-defined search based at least in part upon one or more searchterms. Advertising may be beneficial to users, advertisers or webportals if displayed advertisements are relevant to interests of one ormore users. Thus, a variety of techniques have been developed to inferuser interest, user intent or to subsequently target relevantadvertising to users. One approach to presenting targeted advertisementsincludes employing demographic characteristics (e.g., age, income, sex,occupation, etc.) for predicting user behavior, such as by group.Advertisements may be presented to users in a targeted audience based atleast in part upon predicted user behavior(s).

Another approach includes profile-type ad targeting. In this approach,user profiles specific to a user may be generated to model userbehavior, for example, by tracking a user's path through a web site ornetwork of sites, and compiling a profile based at least in part onpages or advertisements ultimately delivered. A correlation may beidentified, such as for user purchases, for example. An identifiedcorrelation may be used to target potential purchasers by targetingcontent or advertisements to particular users. During presentation ofadvertisements, a presentation system may collect descriptive contentabout types of advertisements presented to users. A broad range ofdescriptive content may be gathered, including content specific to anadvertising presentation system. Advertising analytics gathered may betransmitted to locations remote to an advertising presentation systemfor storage or for further evaluation. Where advertising analyticstransmittal is not immediately available, gathered advertising analyticsmay be stored by an advertising presentation system until transmittal ofthose advertising analytics becomes available.

Servers 106, 108, 120 and 130 may be capable of sending or receivingsignals, such as via a wired or wireless network, or may be capable ofprocessing or storing signals, such as in memory as physical memorystates. Devices capable of operating as a server may include, asexamples, dedicated rack-mounted servers, desktop computers, laptopcomputers, set top boxes, integrated devices combining various features,such as two or more features of the foregoing devices, or the like.Servers may vary widely in configuration or capabilities, but generally,a server may include one or more central processing units and memory. Aserver may also include one or more mass storage devices, one or morepower supplies, one or more wired or wireless network interfaces, one ormore input/output interfaces, or one or more operating systems, such asWindows Server, Mac OS X, Unix, Linux, FreeBSD, or the like.

In some embodiments, users are able to access services provided byservers 106, 108, 120 and/or 130. This may include in a non-limitingexample, email servers, social networking services servers, SMS servers,IM servers, MMS servers, exchange servers, photo-sharing servicesservers, and travel services servers, via the network 105 using theirvarious devices 101-102. In some embodiments, applications, such as amessaging application (e.g., Yahoo! Messenger®, Yahoo! Mail®, and thelike), can be hosted by the application server 108. Thus, theapplication server 108 can store various types of applications andapplication related information including application data and userprofile information.

In one example, messaging server 120 can host email applications;therefore, the messaging server 120 can store various types ofapplications and application related information including emailapplication data and user profile information. It should also beunderstood that content server 106 can also store various types of datarelated to the content and services provided by content server 106 in anassociated content database 107, as discussed in more detail below.Embodiments exist where the network 105 is also coupled with/connectedto a Trusted Search Server (TSS) which can be utilized to render contentin accordance with the embodiments discussed herein.

Moreover, although FIG. 1 illustrates servers 106, 108, 120 and 130 assingle computing devices, respectively, the disclosure is not solimited. For example, one or more functions of servers 106, 108, 120and/or 130 may be distributed across one or more distinct computingdevices. Moreover, in one embodiment, servers 106, 108, 120 and/or 130may be integrated into a single computing device, without departing fromthe scope of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a client device showing anexample embodiment of a client device that may be used within thepresent disclosure. Client device 200 may include many more or lesscomponents than those shown in FIG. 2. However, the components shown aresufficient to disclose an illustrative embodiment for implementing thepresent disclosure. Client device 200 may represent, for example, mobileor client devices discussed above in relation to FIG. 1.

As shown in the figure, client device 200 includes a processing unit(CPU) 222 in communication with a mass memory 230 via a bus 224. Clientdevice 200 also includes a power supply 226, one or more networkinterfaces 250, an audio interface 252, a display 254, a keypad 256, anilluminator 258, an input/output interface 260, a haptic interface 262,and an optional global positioning systems (GPS) receiver 264. Powersupply 226 provides power to Client device 200. A rechargeable ornon-rechargeable battery may be used to provide power. The power mayalso be provided by an external power source, such as an AC adapter or apowered docking cradle that supplements and/or recharges a battery.

Client device 200 may optionally communicate with a base station (notshown), or directly with another computing device. Network interface 250includes circuitry for coupling Client device 200 to one or morenetworks, and is constructed for use with one or more communicationprotocols and technologies including, but not limited to, global systemfor Client communication (GSM), Long Term Evolution (LTE), code divisionmultiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), userdatagram protocol (UDP), transmission control protocol/Internet protocol(TCP/IP), SMS, general packet radio service (GPRS), WAP, ultra wide band(UWB), IEEE 802.16 Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access(WiMax), SIP/RTP, or any of a variety of other wireless communicationprotocols. Network interface 250 is sometimes known as a transceiver,transceiving device, or network interface card (NIC).

Audio interface 252 is arranged to produce and receive audio signalssuch as the sound of a human voice. For example, audio interface 252 maybe coupled to a speaker and microphone (not shown) to enabletelecommunication with others and/or generate an audio acknowledgementfor some action. Display 254 may be a liquid crystal display (LCD), gasplasma, light emitting diode (LED), OLED, or any other type of displayused with a computing device. Display 254 may also include a touchsensitive screen arranged to receive input from an object such as astylus or a digit from a human hand.

Keypad 256 may comprise any input device arranged to receive input froma user. For example, keypad 256 may include a push button numeric dial,or a keyboard. Keypad 256 may also include command buttons that areassociated with selecting and sending images. Illuminator 258 mayprovide a status indication and/or provide light. Illuminator 258 mayremain active for specific periods of time or in response to events. Forexample, when illuminator 258 is active, it may backlight the buttons onkeypad 256 and stay on while the client device is powered. Also,illuminator 258 may backlight these buttons in various patterns whenparticular actions are performed, such as dialing another client device.Illuminator 258 may also cause light sources positioned within atransparent or translucent case of the client device to illuminate inresponse to actions.

Client device 200 also comprises input/output interface 260 forcommunicating with external devices, such as a headset, or other inputor output devices not shown in FIG. 2. Input/output interface 260 canutilize one or more communication technologies, such as USB, infrared,Bluetooth™, or the like. Haptic interface 262 is arranged to providetactile feedback to a user of the client device. For example, the hapticinterface may be employed to vibrate client device 200 in a particularway when the Client device 200 receives a communication from anotheruser.

Optional GPS transceiver 264 can determine the physical coordinates ofclient device 200 on the surface of the Earth, which typically outputs alocation as latitude and longitude values. GPS transceiver 264 can alsoemploy other geo-positioning mechanisms, including, but not limited to,triangulation, assisted GPS (AGPS), E-OTD, CI, SAI, ETA, BSS or thelike, to further determine the physical location of Client device 200 onthe surface of the Earth. It is understood that under differentconditions, GPS transceiver 264 can determine a physical location withinmillimeters for client device 200; and in other cases, the determinedphysical location may be less precise, such as within a meter orsignificantly greater distances. In one embodiment, however, clientdevice may through other components, provide other information that maybe employed to determine a physical location of the device, includingfor example, a MAC address, IP address, or the like.

Mass memory 230 includes a RAM 232, a ROM 234, and other storage means.Mass memory 230 illustrates another example of computer storage mediafor storage of information such as computer readable instructions, datastructures, program modules or other data. Mass memory 230 stores abasic input/output system (“BIOS”) 240 for controlling low-leveloperation of client device 200. The mass memory also stores an operatingsystem 241 for controlling the operation of client device 200. It willbe appreciated that this component may include a general purposeoperating system such as a version of UNIX, or LINUX™, or a specializedclient communication operating system such as Windows Client™, or theSymbian® operating system. The operating system may include, orinterface with a Java virtual machine module that enables control ofhardware components and/or operating system operations via Javaapplication programs.

Memory 230 further includes one or more data stores, which can beutilized by client device 200 to store, among other things, applications242 and/or other data. For example, data stores may be employed to storeinformation that describes various capabilities of client device 200.The information may then be provided to another device based on any of avariety of events, including being sent as part of a header during acommunication, sent upon request, or the like. At least a portion of thecapability information may also be stored on a disk drive or otherstorage medium (not shown) within client device 200.

Applications 242 may include computer executable instructions which,when executed by client device 200, transmit, receive, and/or otherwiseprocess audio, video, images, and enable telecommunication with anotheruser of another client device (e.g., applications 242 may include anemail or other manager that provides a user interface to a user fordisplaying new communications, alerts, or other data to the user; datafor display to the user may be derived, for example, from a newcommunication as discussed for FIG. 4 below).

Other examples of application programs include calendars, browsers,contact managers, task managers, transcoders, database programs, wordprocessing programs, security applications, spreadsheet programs, games,search programs, and so forth. Applications 242 may further includemessaging client 245 that is configured to send, to receive, and/or tootherwise process messages using email, SMS, MMS, IM, VOIP, and/or anyof a variety of other messaging communication protocols. Although asingle messaging client 245 is illustrated it should be clear thatmultiple messaging clients may be employed. For example, one messagingclient may be configured to manage email messages, where anothermessaging client manages SMS messages, and yet another messaging clientis configured to manage serving advertisements, IMs, or the like.

Having described the components of the general architecture employedwithin the disclosed systems and methods, the components' generaloperation with respect to the disclosed systems and methods will now bedescribed.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the components of system 300 forperforming the systems and methods discussed herein according to someembodiments. A data repository 306 stores communications 307 that havebeen received by a user of a user device. Communications 307 may storedata related to, for example, e-mail communications, text messages, andvoice communications. The data repository 306 also stores profiles 308.Each of these profiles corresponds to a particular user of a userdevice. A given profile 308 may include, for example, desired operatingparameters associated with management of services provided to a userdevice and/or management of communications associated with the userdevice.

Data processing engine 308 includes a processor (not shown) to executecommunication module 310, location module 312, identification module314, and messaging module 316. As described in more detail below, theprocessor of data processing engine 308 executes various program logicincluding: communication logic executed by the processor for receiving,over a network, the electronic communications, and for transmitting,over the network, a new communication to cause a display in a userinterface of the user device; location logic executed by the processorfor determining a location of the user device; identification logicexecuted by the processor for identifying a first communication of thereceived communications, the identifying based on matching the locationof the user device to the respective location of the firstcommunication, and the identifying comprising accessing the datarepository; and generation logic executed by the processor for, inresponse to the identifying, generating the new communication.

FIG. 3 further includes messages 302 (e.g., messages sent to or receivedby a user and saved or stored or otherwise accessible to the network forretrieval or use as described herein), a network 304, a user interface320 (e.g., a display of a mobile device for a user to provide user input321). The data processing engine 308 could be hosted by a web server,content provider, email service provider, ad server, a user's computingdevice, an application server, or any combination thereof.

As described in more detail below, new communications (e.g. messages indiffering formats) are generated in response to the triggering event. Inone embodiment, this triggering event is a matching of a user devicelocation to location associated with one or more prior messages 302.

The messages 302 can be any type of message. Examples of such messagescan include email messages, HTML forms SMS/MMS messages, Skype®messages, Twitter® messages and other social messages, comments to anarticle or website, online forum posts/entries, word processingdocuments, help desk messages, portable document format (PDF) documentsand/or other types of documents. The messages or other input data can beprovided to the data processing engine 308 or accessed by a computerprogram or device that can access the input data. In some embodiments,data related to messages 302 can be stored in a database in datarepository 306, which may be associated with an email provider, such asYahoo! Mail®. The database can be any type of database or memory thatcan store the messages and related data.

For purposes of the present disclosure, email messages as a whole arediscussed within some embodiments; however, it should not be construedto limit the applications of the systems and methods discussed herein.Indeed, while reference is made throughout the instant disclosure toemail messages, other forms of electronic documents or transmissions(e.g., Short Message Service (SMS) messages, Multimedia Message Service(MMS) messages, and the like) can be communicated and/or accessed andprocessed by the data processing engine 308 according to the systems andmethods discussed herein.

As discussed above, with reference to FIG. 1, the network 304 can be anytype of network such as, but not limited to, a wireless network, a localarea network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), the Internet, or acombination thereof. The network 304 facilitates connectivity betweenmessages 302, the data processing engine 308, and the data repository306.

The principal processor, server, or combination of devices thatcomprises hardware programmed in accordance with the special purposefunctions herein, referred to for convenience as data processing engine308, includes communication module 310, location module 312,identification module 314, and messaging module 316, as mentioned above.In various embodiments, location module 312 determines a location of auser device, as discussed in more detail below. In some embodiments,location module 312 accesses geofence definition data 318 in order todetermine whether a user device has a location that is within ageofence. Geofence definition data 318 may be, for example, data thatdefines a geographic, local, regional, spatial or other physical orimaginary boundary. In one embodiment, location module 312 determinesthat a user device is within the geofence based on a determination thatthe user device is within this boundary.

It should be understood that the engine(s) and modules discussed hereinare non-exhaustive, as additional or fewer engines and/or modules may beapplicable to the embodiments of the systems and methods discussed. Theoperations, configurations and functionalities of each module, and theirrole within various embodiments of the present disclosure are discussedwith reference to FIG. 4.

FIG. 4 is a process 400 diagram illustrating steps performed inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure for generating anew communication in response to matching a location of a user device(e.g., a mobile device 102 of FIG. 1) as discussed in more detail below.In one embodiment, process 400 is performed by the data processingengine 308.

Process 400 begins with Step 402 where communications (e.g., messages302 of FIG. 3) are received by a user of a user device. This step isperformed by the data communication module 310 of the data processingengine 308. Step 402 receives at least one communication over one ormore networks, such as network 105 or 304. These are communications sentto the user (e.g., addressed by the sender to the user as a To: or Cc:recipient). For example, one of the communications may be addressedprimarily to the user. In other cases, the user may be copied on thecommunication (e.g., as a Cc: recipient).

In Step 404, the communications that are received are stored in a datarepository. In one embodiment, this repository is data repository 306,and the received communications are one of communications 307.

In Step 406, a location of the user device of the user that has receivedthe communications is determined. In one embodiment, it should be notedthat a location of the user device is determined prior to the useractually receiving and reading a communication on her user device.

In Step 408, one of the communications received in Step 402 isidentified as corresponding to a location of a physical facility. Thisfacility may be, for example, a store or other service location of avendor (sender) that has previously sent the communication to the user(e.g., a few hours, days, or weeks prior to the current time). Forexample, the communication may provide a link or data associated with aphysical item to be picked up by the user at the physical facility, or aservice to be provided to the user at the facility. In one embodiment,the identification of this communication is performed prior to the useractually receiving and reading a communication on the user device. Forexample, a server that has received the communication can perform thisidentification using data repository 306.

In Step 410, a new communication is generated in response to theidentification of the communication of Step 408. The new communication,for example, may provide an alert or reminder to the user regarding thesubject matter of the communication identified in Step 408. For example,this new communication can alert the user that she is within apredetermined distance of the physical facility so that the user cantake action based on this alert.

In another embodiment, the notification can be used to cause the userdevice to perform a computing function related to the physical facilityor the communication identified in Step 408. This computing functiondoes not necessarily require that the user be aware that the function isbeing performed. However, in some embodiments, the user is made aware ofthe function by a display or other user interface event.

In Step 412, the new communication generated in Step 410 is transmittedto the user device. In one embodiment, the new communication is sent toa server or other computing device prior to receipt by the user device.Such other computing device may perform a computing function in responseto receiving the communication. This computer function may relate to theservice to be provided to the user at the physical facility.

In Step 414, a notification or alert is displayed on the user device. Inone embodiment, this notification or alert is in response to the userdevice receiving the new communication. In another embodiment, thenotification or alert is generated in response to the server or othercomputing device discussed immediately above having received the newcommunication.

In one embodiment, a method includes receiving, over a network,electronic communications sent to a user, each communication associatedwith a respective location; storing the received communications in adata repository; determining, by at least one processor, a location of auser device of the user; identifying, by the least one processor, afirst communication of the received communications, the identifyingbased on matching the location of the user device to the respectivelocation of the first communication; in response to the identifying,generating, by the least one processor, a new communication; andtransmitting, over a network, by the least one processor, the newcommunication to cause a display in a user interface of the user device.

In one embodiment, the matching is based on determining that thelocation of the user device is within a geofence associated with therespective location of the first communication. In one embodiment, thedisplay comprises at least a portion of the first communication.

In one embodiment, the method further includes: extracting data fromeach of the received communications, including the first communication;storing the data in a data repository; and accessing data from the datarepository for the first communication, the display to include theaccessed data. In one embodiment, the first communication may includemetadata, and the extracting data from the first communication may beperformed using the metadata. In one embodiment, the extracting data mayinclude extracting data from the first communication based on prioractivity of the user device.

In one embodiment, the method further includes associating an expirationwith the first communication, wherein the transmitting the newcommunication is subject to determining a status of the expiration. Inone embodiment, the method further includes receiving parameters fromthe user device, wherein the identifying is controlled by theparameters.

In one embodiment, the method further includes generating a profile forthe user device, the profile comprising data collected from priornetwork interactions with the user device, wherein the display comprisesinformation selected based on the profile. In one embodiment, the methodfurther includes receiving a profile from the user interface, whereinthe generating the new communication is subject to the profile.

In one embodiment, the method further includes automatically identifyingcomputing devices of senders that meet relevancy criteria, wherein thetransmitting the new communication is subject to a computing device of asender of the first communication conforming to the relevancy criteria.

In one embodiment, a system includes: a data repository to storeelectronic communications sent to a user of a user device, eachcommunication associated with a respective location; at least oneprocessor; and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium fortangibly storing thereon program logic for execution by the processor.

The program logic includes: communication logic executed by theprocessor for receiving, over a network, the electronic communications,and for transmitting, over the network, a new communication to cause adisplay in a user interface of the user device; location logic executedby the processor for determining a location of the user device;identification logic executed by the processor for identifying a firstcommunication of the received communications, the identifying based onmatching the location of the user device to the respective location ofthe first communication, and the identifying comprising accessing thedata repository; and generation logic executed by the processor for, inresponse to the identifying, generating the new communication.

In one embodiment, the matching is based on determining that thelocation of the user device is within a geofence associated with therespective location of the first communication. In one embodiment, theprogram logic further comprises extraction logic to extract data fromeach of the received communications, including the first communication,and wherein the generation logic further accesses the data extractedfrom the first communication when generating the new communication, thenew communication to comprise the data extracted from the firstcommunication. In one embodiment, the first communication comprisesmetadata, and the data is extracted from the first communication usingthe metadata.

In one embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable storage mediumtangibly encoded with computer-executable instructions, that whenexecuted by at least one processor associated with a computing system,performs a method including: receiving, over a network, electroniccommunications sent to a user of a user device, each communicationassociated with a respective location; storing the receivedcommunications in a data repository; determining a location of the userdevice; identifying a first communication of the receivedcommunications, the identifying based on matching the location of theuser device to the respective location of the first communication, andthe identifying comprising accessing the data repository to obtainlocation data; in response to the identifying, generating a newcommunication; and transmitting, over a network, the new communicationto the user device to cause an event on the user device.

In one embodiment, the matching is based on determining that thelocation of the user device is within a geofence associated with therespective location of the first communication. In one embodiment, themethod further comprises extracting data from each of the receivedcommunications, including the first communication, and including thedata extracted from the first communication in the new communicationthat is generated.

In one embodiment, the event is the providing of a display of at least aportion of the first communication. In one embodiment, the extractingdata includes extracting data from the first communication based onprior activity of the user device, and the method further includesgenerating a profile for the user device, the profile comprising datacollected from at least one prior communication with the user device,wherein the event comprises display of data selected at least based onthe profile.

As shown in FIG. 5, internal architecture 500 includes one or moreprocessing units, processors, or processing cores, (also referred toherein as CPUs) 512, which interface with at least one computer bus 502.Also interfacing with computer bus 502 are computer-readable medium, ormedia, 505, network interface 514, memory 504, e.g., random accessmemory (RAM), run-time transient memory, read only memory (ROM), mediadisk drive interface 520 as an interface for a drive that can readand/or write to media including removable media such as floppy, CD-ROM,DVD, media, display interface 510 as interface for a monitor or otherdisplay device, keyboard interface 516 as interface for a keyboard,pointing device interface 518 as an interface for a mouse or otherpointing device, and miscellaneous other interfaces not shownindividually, such as parallel and serial port interfaces and auniversal serial bus (USB) interface.

Memory 504 interfaces with computer bus 502 so as to provide informationstored in memory 504 to CPU 512 during execution of software programssuch as an operating system, application programs, device drivers, andsoftware modules that comprise program code, and/or computer executableprocess steps, incorporating functionality described herein (e.g., oneor more of the process flows described herein). CPU 512 first loadscomputer executable process steps from storage, for example, memory 504,computer readable storage medium/media 506, removable media drive,and/or other storage device. CPU 512 can then execute the stored processsteps in order to execute the loaded computer-executable process steps.Stored data (e.g., data stored by a storage device) can be accessed byCPU 512 during the execution of computer-executable process steps.

Persistent storage, for example, medium/media 506, can be used to storean operating system and one or more application programs. Persistentstorage can also be used to store device drivers, such as one or more ofa digital camera driver, monitor driver, printer driver, scanner driver,or other device drivers, web pages, content files, playlists and otherfiles. Persistent storage can further include program modules and datafiles used to implement one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure, for example, listing selection module(s), targetinginformation collection module(s), and listing notification module(s),the functionality and use of which in the implementation of the presentdisclosure are discussed in detail herein.

Network link 528 typically provides information communication usingtransmission media through one or more networks to other devices thatuse or process the information. For example, network link 528 mayprovide a connection through local network 524 to a host computer 526 orto equipment operated by a Network or Internet Service Provider (ISP)530. ISP equipment in turn provides data communication services throughthe public, worldwide packet-switching communication network of networksnow commonly referred to as the Internet 532.

A computer called a server host 534 connected to the Internet 532 hostsa process that provides a service in response to information receivedover the Internet 532. For example, server host 534 hosts a process thatprovides information representing video data for presentation at display510. It is contemplated that the components of system 500 can bedeployed in various configurations within other computer systems, e.g.,host and server.

At least some embodiments of the present disclosure are related to theuse of computer system 500 for implementing some of the techniquesdescribed herein. Although computer system 500 may be used inconjunction with certain of the techniques herein, computer system 500is configured as a new, specific machine in accordance with at least oneof the technological solutions described above.

According to one embodiment, these techniques are performed by computersystem 500 in response to processing unit 512 executing one or moresequences of one or more processor instructions contained in memory 504.Such instructions, also called computer instructions, software andprogram code, may be read into memory 504 from another computer-readablemedium 506 such as storage device or network link. Execution of thesequences of instructions contained in memory 504 causes processing unit512 to perform one or more of the method steps described herein. Inalternative embodiments, hardware, such as ASIC, may be used in place ofor in combination with software.

The signals transmitted over network link and other networks throughcommunications interface, carry information to and from computer system500. Computer system 500 can send and receive information, includingprogram code, through the networks, among others, through network linkand communications interface. In an example using the Internet, a serverhost transmits program code for a particular application, requested by amessage sent from computer, through Internet, ISP equipment, localnetwork and communications interface. The received code may be executedby processor 502 as it is received, or may be stored in memory 504 or instorage device or other non-volatile storage for later execution, orboth.

FIG. 6 illustrates a system to track a location of a user device 605 andgenerate a new communication to user device 605 in response to atriggering event, in accordance with one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure. The triggering event may be, for example, theidentification of a communication that has been received which has alocation that matches or corresponds to a currently-determinedgeographic location of user device 605.

In one embodiment, the location of user device 605 is determined to bewithin geofence 602. This location is determined to match a location ofa prior communication sent to the user of user device 605. The priorcommunication was sent, for example, by a merchant or otherproduct/service provider. The merchant has a physical facility location601. In one embodiment, location 601 is considered to be associated withcommunications sent to the user from the merchant. When the systemdetermines that user device 605 is located within geofence 602, anotification 606 is generated as a new communication and sent to userdevice 605. An alert or other notification is provided to the user ondisplay 607 of the user device 605.

The identification of the prior communication is performed by trackingserver 609. In one embodiment, tracking server 609 includes dataprocessing engine 308 of FIG. 3. Tracking server 609 accesses datastored in data repository 611. In one embodiment, a data repository 611stores communications 307 and profiles 308 of FIG. 3.

Tracking server 609 receives various communications from numeroussources and senders. One of these sources is server 603 (e.g., operatedby the merchant above) which sends communications 613 that are receivedby tracking server 609. One or more of these communications areaddressed to the user of user device 605.

Physical facility location 601 is associated with communications 613sent by server 603. Data repository 611 stores data that associatescommunications 613 with physical facility location 601. Tracking server609 accesses this stored data when determining whether the location ofuser device 605 matches a location of a received communication.

Tracking server 609 receives communications from numerous sources asmentioned above. As various communications 615 are received by trackingserver 609, a determination is made whether one or more of thesecommunications are associated with a location that matches thecurrently-determined location of user device 605. For example, one ofcommunications 615 may be from a different merchant that also has aphysical facility location within geofence 602.

In one embodiment, server 603 is associated with multiple physicalfacility locations in addition to location 601. These other facilitylocations may correspond to one or more different geofences.

In one embodiment, the notification 606 provided to user device 605 mayinclude data that has been extracted from one or more of the receivedcommunications 613. Data extracted from these communications may bestored in data repository 611. Tracking server 609 accesses this datawhen generating a new communication. This data may be stored in advanceof the determination that a user is at a current location (e.g., storedwhen the prior communication was first received from the sender).

In one embodiment, the sending of notification 606 to user device 605 issubject to tracking server 609 determining that a sender ofcommunications 613 meets relevancy criteria established by the user.This relevancy criteria may provided as parameters from user device 605,and also stored as a part of a user's profile 308 in data repository611.

System and Method Variations

Various additional non-limiting embodiments and examples are nowdiscussed below. These embodiments and examples are not intended tolimit the generality of the foregoing disclosure.

In one embodiment, various types of extractions of data from receivedcommunications is performed in order to understand the content in themessages and present new product or service opportunities to an enduser. For example, shipping information in a communication to a user canbe extracted. The shipping information is provided to the user (e.g., ina card) when the user logs-in to her mail. Using the system of thedisclosure above, data is extracted from messages sent by vendors withphysical locations. The user is automatically (or as adjusted by a usersetting) reminded of this prior email or other message when the user isnear the relevant store (e.g., the store vendor that sent the prioremail to the user). When the user is at the store (or nearby, such aswithin a geofence) the email appears with a push notification on theuser's phone giving the user the relevant data (e.g., weekly deals,coupons, news, service info, etc.).

In one embodiment, at least one of the technological solutions providedabove helps a user to remember the existence of a relevant prior emailor other message when the user is presently determined to be (e.g., bylocation tracking) in a cogent or otherwise relevant physical locationassociated with the prior email or message. There are various ways toimplement this service, but in one example, a list is stored for apredetermined number of top email senders who have correspondingphysical locations (e.g., Target, Walmart, Starbucks, Subway, etc.).Email or other messages from these vendors is filtered and processed asdiscussed above. A user can be provided with a manual control option.For example the user may be presented with a button that activates areminder feature. As an alternative to this button, a global setting maybe provided in a mail service for the user to set.

In one embodiment, geofencing is added into a Yahoo! Mail or other mailapplication on Android and iOS. When a user is within a predefineddistance (e.g., 250 meters) of a specific location, a predefinedgeofence triggers sending of a push notification that is a reminder ofthe prior email. When the user accesses the push notification, the useris taken directly to that prior email (e.g., with a map displayed alongwith the email to help the user find the location of the vendor thatsent the prior email). Coupons or other information associated with thee-mail may also be presented to the user. The presentation of thisinformation to the user may be triggered by the receipt of notification606 from tracking server 609.

In one embodiment, various monetization techniques or models may be usedin connection with the sending of notifications 606. For example, avendor may pay a service fee for each such notification that is sent touser device 605. The notifications may include advertising associatedwith the user. Such advertising may include sponsored searchadvertising, guaranteed and non-guaranteed delivery advertising, adtargeting, ad serving and ad analytics. The advertising may includedeals/coupons that the user would otherwise need to devote muchsearching time and effort to locate. The user might also forget aboutthe existence of the coupons.

In one embodiment, the extraction of information from emails isperformed to extract particular information that is relevant to a user.For example, a package tracking number can be extracted. Such extractionmay be done when the user purchases something at, for example, Amazon.This extracted information is then later presented to the user in adifferent, more useful way when the new communication is generated andsent to user device 605 as discussed above. This extraction also may bedone with sporting and other events, and flight and other travelinformation.

In one embodiment, a retailer has numerous physical store locations. Ifa user is physically located at a particular store, the user may haveindicated a desire for (or previously enabled) a feature toautomatically locate and display a location-relevant prior e-mail fromthe retailer. The system described above extracts data regarding relatedcoupons and other deals for the user that can be used by the user at thestore at the current location of the user.

In one embodiment, when a user is located at a retailer from which theuser has previously received an e-mail, a notification 606 is generatedthat will notify user device 605 that there are coupons or otherinformation available for use by the user at this location. The user canbe notified by a push notification of such information, or the user caninitiate a request for updating of such information by pressing a buttonor otherwise activating this feature in a user interface of user device605.

In one embodiment, the location of a user device 605 is passivelytracked. Coordinates of the user location are matched with previouslyreceived messages that are associated with the user location. Thedetermination of a match is a triggering event that causes the sendingof notification 606 and/or initiating another computing function on userdevice 605 (and/or causing a computing function on yet another server orcomputing device).

In one embodiment, the data extracted from a received communication isreformatted (e.g., to make it simpler for the user to read, or simplerto access). In another embodiment, the original prior e-mail itself isdisplayed or highlighted for the user when user device 605 is determinedto be at a specific location that corresponds to a location associatedwith the prior e-mail.

In one embodiment, notification 606 may trigger the display of aninquiry to the user regarding whether the user desires to see certain ofvarious types of information that are available (and that are associatedwith the user's present location). For example, the notification mightprovide a short summary of various deals that are associated with theuser's current location.

In one embodiment, a form of new notification can be provided ordisplayed in the user's inbox when the user is at a locationcorresponding to a prior e-mail received from a store or other physicalfacility at that same location. In one embodiment, a list of vendors orother senders of communications for which the notification service isprovided are determined by storage of a list as data in data repository611. In another embodiment, a predetermined number of highest volume ormost relevant senders of messages can be determined. Then, the system isimplemented for these particular senders.

In one embodiment, as part of a monetization technique, vendorsthemselves enroll in a notification service. As part of this service,the vendor includes some form of data or information in a communication(e.g., in the metadata of an e-mail) that facilitates extraction ofinformation by tracking server 609. In one embodiment, the metadataidentifies what parts of the message are to be extracted by trackingserver 609. The vendor can be charged for a notification service onsubscription basis. For example, there could be a charge for thisservice that sets a fee for a particular number of e-mails that arepushed to a user. The vendor can also put a tag in each message toassist in making data readily extractable under this service.

In one embodiment, the physical locations of the vendors are determinedand stored in data repository 611. This can be done, for example, byusing various services (e.g., Yelp, Foursquare, or API).

In one embodiment, the system is implemented with regard to competitorsof a vendor. For example, if a user is at a Target location, acompetitor of Target could have information presented to the user. Theuser interest in such information may be based by analysis of priore-mails to the user by tracking server 609. In one embodiment, an onlineauction could be conducted when a person is at a location. Vendors andcompetitors could participate in the auction to determine who can send anotification to the user.

In one embodiment, the user has access to a button that enables ordisables notification regarding prior e-mails as discussed above. Thisbutton lets the user turn the feature on or off. Information regardingthe user's selection is stored as an update the user's profile.

In one embodiment, there is an expiration date associated with the newcommunication generation step. For example, an expiration date isestablished for a coupon or other information in a prior communicationso that a user is only presented with information that is still relevantand active at the time that the user is present at a current location.

In one embodiment, the providing of notifications to the user iscustomized for each user. This personalization is based on otherinterest factors that tracking server 609 has obtained for the user(e.g., based on other activities of the user on the Internet, or on aservice hosted by tracking server 609).

In one embodiment, a user has already received one or more e-mails froma particular vendor. Interest factors associated with the user are usedto select coupons related to a particular product area (e.g.,back-to-school items) because tracking server 609 has received dataindicating that the user is related to that product area (e.g., is astudent). These factors may be based on other information acquired forthe user via a messaging or other service provided to the user that isaccessible to tracking server 609, and/or based on prior communicationsand data obtained and/or received for a user.

Location Tracking Variations

Various non-limiting embodiments and examples related to locationtracking, which may be used with the disclosure above, are now discussedbelow. These embodiments and examples are not intended to limit thegenerality of the foregoing disclosure.

In one embodiment, a location tracking computing device or modulecollects geolocation information that is used to make a locationdetermination. Geolocation information may be data or other informationwhich identifies a geographical location of a person or resource. Theinformation can have various formats and precision and content. Onesource of geolocation information is the Global Positioning System(GPS). Terrestrial devices receive transmissions from orbitingsatellites of the GPS system and use information contained in thetransmissions to determine their position. The determined positioninformation typically includes latitude, longitude and elevation.Additional information that may be derived includes a heading and speedif the device is in motion.

Various apparatus have been developed for use by a user. These includestand-alone, handheld devices and software applications operable inconjunction with hardware devices such as smartphones to produce a GPSreceiver. These devices may display geolocation data such as latitudeand longitude. In addition, these devices may combine the geolocationdata with map data to produce a graphical image showing a determinedlocation on a map. Additionally, aerial view information may beavailable so that the device may combine the determined location on anaerial view of the surrounding region and even combine the mapinformation, the aerial information and the determined location.

In addition to having the geolocation information available at a mobileor handheld device, other systems have been developed to convey thatgeolocation information to a remote location. For example, trackingsoftware can be installed on a remotely located computing device such asa hosting server. The tracking software communicates with client-sidejavascript files for display on a client device of maps with thegeolocation information for a tracked device. Network functionality,such as the Internet, permits the display to be updated. These systemsfor remote tracking can be used, for example, for tracking fleetvehicles or delivery or service vehicles or personnel.

A data retrieval server may be configured to receive geolocation dataover a network from one or mobile sources. In an exemplary embodiment,the mobile sources provide geolocation data on a real-time basis. Forexample, each of the mobile sources (e.g., a mobile device) may be aself-contained location monitoring device and include a globalpositioning system (GPS) receiver, control processor for determining thelocation of the mobile source based on received GPS data from GPSsatellites, a terrestrial radio transceiver for communicating with thenetwork and a battery for powering the mobile source. The system may,for example, determine location once at least every second and transmitits data every at least three seconds. It may include a cellulartransceiver for communicating with a cellular radio network and therebycommunicating with a server system. Other examples of mobile sourcesinclude suitably equipped handheld GPS devices, mobile phones and smartphones. Any device capable of tracking an asset or individual may be thesource of the data received by the geolocation server system.

The geolocation data may be received on a real-time basis. For example,the geolocation data from the mobile sources is updated in approximatelythe same time during which the mobile source is active to ensure thatthe location provided for the mobile source by the device is accurate atany given time, depending on conditions. For example, when a mobilesource detects that it is stationary, it may reduce its update frequencyor the transmission of updated information in order to conserve batterylife. Under different conditions, such as moving at a high rate ofspeed, the device may increase its update frequency in order that itslocation may be tracked with high accuracy, at about the same time thedevice is moving. Received geolocation data from a mobile source may bestored in a database.

A gateway server may be configured to communicate with a remote mapserver. This communication is over any suitable communications networksuch as the Internet. The map data server stores map data for accessover a network. The stored map data may include map information for aspecified mapped area or graphical display information such as an aerialview of a mapped area. The map data may be retrieved by providing asuitable request, such as address information or GPS coordinates. Anexample of a map data server is the system provided by Google Maps.

The gateway server provides the GPS coordinates received from a mobilesource by the data retrieval server to the map data server as a requestover the network. The request may also specify the type of graphicaldisplay information to be retrieved, such as aerial view data. Inresponse to the request, the map data server provides the specified mapdata over the network.

Map data including graphical display information are stored in adatabase. The gateway server reverse-geocodes the received GPScoordinates to determine a physical address for the location of thetransmitting mobile source. The physical address is stored in thedatabase.

In one embodiment, as updated GPS coordinates or other geolocation dataare received by the data retrieval server, they are provided to the mapdata server and updated map data is received and combined with theupdated geolocation data. In this manner a graphical display of locationof the mobile source which originated the geolocation data may beupdated, in real-time. In this manner an icon or other representation ofthe mobile source may be displayed on a video display (e.g., of a mobiledevice) along with the map data to convey a visual understanding of thegeographical location of the mobile source and produce a graphicallocation display.

In one embodiment, a GPS device or other mobile source sends locationinformation to a geolocation server system. The GPS device may be anyasset or person whose location is desired to be tracked. The GPS deviceis equipped with an apparatus such as a GPS receiver that developslocation information for itself and can report that locationinformation. The GPS device may have features that enable it to betracked by the geolocation server system. For example, it may beassigned and communicate an identification code that must be matched atthe server system, or it may encrypt its transmissions so that thegeolocation server system only can correctly decrypt or decode them. Thelocation information may be in any suitable format, such as GPScoordinates, latitude and longitude or a physical address or streetaddress. The location information may be communicated using any suitablemethod such as internet protocol format conveyed over the internet andrelated networks. A mobile data network such as a cellular network orWiMAX network may form one or more legs of the communication networkbetween the GPS device and the geolocation server system. Thetransmitted data is received at the geolocation server system andstored.

The geolocation server system combines the received location informationwith map data. The map data may be generated locally from any suitablesource or may be received separately from an external source over anetwork such as the internet.

An authorized user provides a publishing request to the geolocationserver system. The geolocation server system receives the publishingrequest from the authorized user of the geolocation information. Therequest is to share information for the GPS device or other mobilesource. In response, the geolocation server system provides to theauthorized user a publishing code for incorporation in any web page or aURL for a web page to be displayed by the authorized user or anotheruser. The publishing code or URL are provided in order to share with theauthorized user or the other user substantially real time location forthe GPS device or other mobile source.

Other alternative embodiments are now described below for locationtracking of a device within a wireless network. Various measurementtechniques may be used, including, for example, Time of Arrival (ToA),Time Difference of Arrival (TDoA), Received Signal Strength Indication(RSSI), Angle of Arrival (AoA), or other techniques used to track thelocation of a device. In ToA and TDoA systems, location informationcollected is the time of arrival, which is most reliable if all trackingdevices receive the same packet, record its timestamp and forward it toa location server. Since the ToA algorithms are computationallyintensive, it is preferred that the system process only packetsspecifically intended for location tracking. For RSSI based systems,different packets may be transmitted with different transmission powers.For example, the first few transmissions after a channel change,transmissions at different physical rates, and retries are all sent atvariable transmission powers. Thus, it is preferred that the trackingdevices record the RSSI of the same packet.

Location tracking information may be collected from a location trackingpacket that is transmitted in response to a specified transmission,identifies the tracked device, and identifies the packet as a locationtracking packet. The location tracking information is obtained from thesame transmission and location processing is performed for the mostpart, only on the location tracking packets.

In some embodiments, a tracked device may be a client device, wirelessmobile station, cellular phone, wireless VoIP phone, Personal DigitalAssistant (PDA), laptop computer, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)tag, rogue wireless access point, rogue wireless client, or any othertype of device capable of operating in a wireless environment.

A location server may be configured to collect location trackinginformation from tracked devices. The location server may communicate,for example, via a local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN)that includes intermediate network devices (e.g., routers, switches,etc.), which allow for the transmission of data between the trackeddevices and the location server. The location server may also beequipped with an antenna for communication with access points throughthe wireless network. The location server may be implemented as a singlelocation server or may be implemented as multiple servers. The locationserver may also be in communication with a central controller configuredfor receiving location services requests and forwarding the requests tothe location server or location data to the location server.

Geofencing Variations

Various non-limiting embodiments and examples related to geofencing,which may be used with the disclosure above, are now discussed below.These embodiments and examples are not intended to limit the generalityof the foregoing disclosure.

The use of smart phones and other mobile devices with data connectionsand location determination capabilities is changing the way people shopfor products and services, find restaurants and entertainment events,and receive data. Smart phones can provide users with mobile access tothe Internet that is quickly becoming fast and ubiquitous. Smart phonesalso commonly include mechanisms, such as Global Positioning System(GPS) receivers, that allow the devices to receive and constantly updatelocation information.

Accordingly, the availability of portable implementations of locatingtechnologies via mobile GPS capabilities and network assisted GPS inmodem mobile devices (e.g., cellular telephones) is rapidly increasing.Furthermore, in many cases of Internet usage, a user's location can beestablished to varying degrees of confidence by other means such asInternet Protocol (IP) to location lookup. In addition, other locationor location-related information may be known about a given user, such ashome or office location, based on a user profile in the case of alogged-in user, or from Internet service provider (ISP) records. The endresult is a rich set of data related to locations for any given Internetuser and Internet usage session.

Various specific non-limiting examples of geofences may include thefollowing. In a first example, there is a point of interest, and one ormore geofences are defined around the point of interest. In thisexample, the point of interest may be a retail location of anadvertiser. The geofences are based on a travel time to the point ofinterest using various modes of transportation. For example, anadvertiser located at the point of interest may wish to define ageofence that includes individuals who are able to travel to the pointof interest within a limited period of time. The limited period of timemay be arbitrarily chosen by the advertiser. In this example fifteenminutes will be used, although other time periods ranging from a fewminutes to several hours are contemplated.

A walking geofence defines a boundary on a physical map that includeslocations from which a user may walk to the point of interest with thelimited period of time. A driving geofence defines a boundary on the mapthat includes locations from which a user may drive to the point ofinterest within the limited period of time. Geofences for various modesof transportation need not be concentric or aligned.

Each geofence for a specific mode of transportation may conform tonatural or man-made geographic features that may impact an amount oftime a user may need to travel from a location within the geofence tothe point of interest. For example, traffic on one or more individualroads may bias the shape of the driving geofence away from trafficcongestion. The boundary may be dynamically updated in response tochanging traffic conditions. The boundary of the walking geofence mayreflect pedestrian specific walkways, sidewalks, trails or publiclyaccessible routes through or around buildings or other potentialpedestrian obstacles.

In one example, there exists a point of interest and various geofencesaround the point of interest. The point of interest may be a buildinglocated at a given location on a map. For example, an advertiser maywish to define a walking geofence by a ten-minute walking time to aretail location located at the point of interest. Similarly, theadvertiser may also wish to define a driving geofence by afifteen-minute drive-time to the retail location located at the point ofinterest. In an example, a location of traffic congestion may impact theshape or area of the driving geofence, by decreasing the area of thedriving geofence in response to an additional amount of time beyond thefifteen-minute criteria defining the driving geofence.

Closing

For the purposes of this disclosure a module is a software, hardware, orfirmware (or combinations thereof) system, process or functionality, orcomponent thereof, that performs or facilitates the processes, features,and/or functions described herein (with or without human interaction oraugmentation). A module can include sub-modules. Software components ofa module may be stored on a computer readable medium for execution by aprocessor. Modules may be integral to one or more servers, or be loadedand executed by one or more servers. One or more modules may be groupedinto an engine or an application.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that the methods and systems ofthe present disclosure may be implemented in many manners and as suchare not to be limited by the foregoing exemplary embodiments andexamples. In other words, functional elements being performed by singleor multiple components, in various combinations of hardware and softwareor firmware, and individual functions, may be distributed among softwareapplications at either the client level or server level or both. In thisregard, any number of the features of the different embodimentsdescribed herein may be combined into single or multiple embodiments,and alternate embodiments having fewer than, or more than, all of thefeatures described herein are possible.

Functionality may also be, in whole or in part, distributed amongmultiple components, in manners now known or to become known. Thus,myriad software/hardware/firmware combinations are possible in achievingthe functions, features, interfaces and preferences described herein.However, although such combinations may be used to provide portions of acomputing system, a new, specific machine is configured according to atleast one of the technological solutions described above.

Moreover, the scope of the present disclosure covers conventionallyknown manners for carrying out the described features and functions andinterfaces, as well as those variations and modifications that may bemade to the hardware or software or firmware components described hereinas would be understood by those skilled in the art now and hereafter.

Furthermore, the embodiments of methods presented and described asflowcharts in this disclosure are provided by way of example in order toprovide a more complete understanding of the technology. The disclosedmethods are not limited to the operations and logical flow presentedherein. Alternative embodiments are contemplated in which the order ofthe various operations is altered and in which sub-operations describedas being part of a larger operation are performed independently.

While various embodiments have been described for purposes of thisdisclosure, such embodiments should not be deemed to limit the teachingof this disclosure to those embodiments. Various changes andmodifications may be made to the elements and operations described aboveto obtain a result that remains within the scope of the systems andprocesses described in this disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: receiving, over a network,electronic communications sent to a user, each communication associatedwith a respective location; extracting data from a first communicationof the received communications, the communication associated with afirst location, and the extracted data comprising tracking dataassociated with a physical object; storing the extracted data from thefirst communication in a data repository; after the storing of theextracted data, determining, by at least one processor, a location of auser device of the user; determining, by the least one processor, thatthe location of the user device is within a geofence associated with thefirst location; in response to determining that the location of the userdevice is within the geofence, transmitting a notification to the userdevice indicating availability of information associated with the firstlocation, wherein a user interface of the user device presents an optionfor selection by the user; in response to selection of the option by theuser, generating, by the least one processor, a new communication, thegenerating comprising accessing the extracted data in the datarepository and including the extracted data in the new communication;and transmitting, over a network, by the least one processor, the newcommunication to cause a display in the user interface of the userdevice, wherein the display presents the tracking data extracted fromthe first communication.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:prior to determining that the location of the user device is within thegeofence, extracting data from each of the received communications,including the first communication.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein thefirst communication comprises metadata, and the extracting of the datafrom the first communication is performed using the metadata.
 4. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the extracting of the data comprisesextracting the data from the first communication based on prior activityof the user device.
 5. The method of claim 1, further comprisingassociating an expiration with the first communication, wherein thetransmitting the new communication is subject to determining a status ofthe expiration.
 6. The method of claim 1, further comprising receivingparameters from the user device, wherein the identifying is controlledby the parameters.
 7. The method of claim 1, further comprisinggenerating a profile for the user device, the profile comprising datacollected from prior network interactions with the user device, whereinthe display comprises information selected based on the profile.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising receiving a profile from the userinterface, wherein the generating the new communication is subject tothe profile.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising automaticallyidentifying computing devices of senders that meet relevancy criteria,wherein the transmitting the new communication is subject to a computingdevice of a sender of the first communication conforming to therelevancy criteria.
 10. A system comprising: a data repository to storeelectronic communications sent to a user of a user device, eachcommunication associated with a respective location; at least oneprocessor; and a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium fortangibly storing thereon program logic for execution by the processor,the program logic comprising: communication logic executed by theprocessor for receiving, over a network, the electronic communications,and for transmitting, over the network, a new communication to cause adisplay in a user interface of the user device; extraction logicexecuted by the processor for extracting data from a first communicationof the received communications, the first communication associated witha first location, and the extracted data comprising tracking dataassociated with a physical object; storage logic executed by theprocessor for storing the extracted data from the first communication inthe data repository; location logic executed by the processor fordetermining, after the storing of the extracted data, a location of theuser device; matching logic executed by the processor for determiningthat the location of the user device is within a geofence associatedwith the first location; and generation logic executed by the processorfor, in response to determining that the location of the user device iswithin the geofence, generating the new communication, the generatingcomprising accessing the extracted data in the data repository andincluding the tracking data extracted from the first communication inthe new communication.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the firstcommunication comprises metadata, and the data is extracted from thefirst communication using the metadata.
 12. A non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium tangibly encoded withcomputer-executable instructions, that when executed by at least oneprocessor associated with a computing system, performs a methodcomprising: receiving, over a network, electronic communications sent toa user of a user device, each communication associated with a respectivelocation; extracting data from a first communication of the receivedcommunications, the first communication associated with a firstlocation, and the extracted data comprising tracking data; storing theextracted data from the first communication in a data repository; afterthe storing of the extracted data, determining a location of the userdevice; determining that the location of the user device is within ageofence associated with the first location, the determining comprisingaccessing the data repository to obtain location data; in response todetermining that the location of the user device is within the geofence,generating a new communication, wherein the tracking data is included inthe new communication; and transmitting, over a network, the newcommunication to the user device to cause an event on the user device.13. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12,wherein the method further comprises extracting data from each of thereceived communications, including the first communication.
 14. Thenon-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein theextracting of the data comprises extracting the data from the firstcommunication based on prior activity of the user device, and the methodfurther comprising generating a profile for the user device, the profilecomprising data collected from at least one prior communication with theuser device, wherein the event comprises display of data selected atleast based on the profile.